Closing the Gap: Plank Center Research on PR Leaders Shows Room for Improvement

In 2015, the Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations and Heyman Associates revealed its first “Report Card on PR Leaders.” That year, leaders earned passing grades for the five areas they examined — leadership performance, job engagement, trust in the organization, work culture and job satisfaction — but crucial gaps highlighted areas for improvement.

That same survey was completed by nearly 1,200 PR leaders earlier this year. Unfortunately, the results didn’t show improvement in any area — grades were worse in several categories. Grades for leadership performance and trust were unchanged, but slipped for work culture, job engagement and job satisfaction. Overall, the Plank Center Report Card 2017 suggests that overall leadership in public relations is pretty average (C+) compared with 2015 (B-), and it’s not getting any better.

Three areas, in particular, underscored the results:

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